Essay on Homers Odyssey Exploring Our Social Roots

The Odyssey: Exploring Our Social Roots In modern western society we are a people taught from very young that good manners and strong morality are necessity. The idea that the good will prosper and the bad will get what they deserve is widely accepted and applauded. However, these ideas about the social rules of modern civil man are not so novel. This same system of social behavior and belief is exhibited throughout the epic poem, The Odyssey. In this epic we find the roots of our contemporary social actions and convictions importantly displayed. All through this epic there are many examples to distinguish those civilized, who abided by social customs, and those who did not. One of the primary forms of†¦show more content†¦The time worn battle of good versus evil has spanned our human history. The presupposed idea that good will eventually overcome in the end is assumed by almost all people and is demonstrated frequently through this epic, and the display of this notion still gives one a sense of security in their morals as it did many years ago. Particularly, Odysseus entire struggle exemplifies this very principle. The Odyssey... unabashedly exhibits the triumph of life over death in terms of good over evil: quite simply, it suggests that Odysseus vindicated justice so strikingly that his name will never die. (Dimock 25) Deep exploration into Odysseus character is unnecessary to discover what made this man so just that his good triumphs even in our present culture. His morality is presented and contrasted so frequently and skillfully as to insinuate to this theme throughout ones reading. The first instance one may indicate is how Odysseus is spoken of and the chaos in his home with his absence. This impression of his moral fiber is brought to ones attention immediately as he is spoken highly of and compared to his shipmates whose own recklessness destroyed them all (Lawall, Fitzgerald 209) in the invocation to the Muse. Throughout the epic, Odysseus is referred of as the wise, the noble, quick-witted, tactful and countless other positive attributes by all acquainted with him and even by Homer.

An Importance of Education Free Essays

â€Å"Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare it today.† These words said by Malcolm X indicate how significant is the impact, which schools have on young minds. Good schooling is essential for every society and individual, as it is supposed to prepare students for the world of work later in life as well as to teach them the values and morals required in the society. We will write a custom essay sample on An Importance of Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now In other words, it is school where teenagers are equipped with necessary skills so that they can participate effectively as member of community, hence they have a chance to contribute towards the development of common identity. For that reason, there have been many attempts to create a school environment that will allow young people to grow emotionally, physically and mentally. Consequently, there are two main choices to make. This is having a single-gender education, or a school where students are in classrooms with a mixture of genders. However, as it has been previously stated, the school should be regarded as a reflection of the real world. The real world is coeducational though, so mixed schools are rightly considered to be more proper setting for the young learners. The main concern about single-sex classrooms is that its members will not be capable of maintaining successful relationships throughout their lives since they will be accustomed to interaction only with either boys or girls. Nevertheless, being able to communicate with the other sex is crucial to prepare students for the professional world. Coeducational schools perfectly serve this function, because collaboration in classrooms is both purposeful and supervised. What is more, children there have the opportunity to be taught a broader range of essential life skills e.g. understanding more diverse points of views, mutual respect or simply how to cooperate efficiently and create successful interpersonal bonds. On the contrary, single-sex schools not only limit these possibilities for forming friendships with the opposite sex but also hinder them, as such restrictions lead to perceiving the other sex in an entirely unrealistic, ideological way, simply because children lack the time spent together. Additionally, deficiency in mutual contact deprives young people from gender segregated classrooms of an enriching experience that is learning about and from each other. That fact can be further confirmed by many researches, in relation to which children need a mix of traditionally masculine and feminine characteristics, like playing competitive sports and discussing emotions, in order to be mentally healthy. Therefore, boys who spend their time mostly with other boys are thought to be possessive and to display aggression. Girls also benefit from the boys’ presence by being more courageous while performing in the society. Moreover, classroom assignment based on gender teaches young people that males and females have completely different types of intellects, which firmly supports stereotyping along with discrimination. Correspondingly, the common beliefs, that only boys can play football or videogames and only girls are allowed to play with dolls, reinforce sexism in schools and in the culture at large, as children tend to favor members of their own group, and be prejudiced against those in contrasting groups. By contrast, the children in the coed classroom are less probable to limit their interests according to gender – the girls can play football and the boys are allowed to play with dolls.Still, it has been argued that both sexes adopt different approaches towards learning, and taking it into account, they should be taught dissimilarly. Indeed, most same-sex classrooms allow teachers to tailor their lessons toward the specific needs of their students. For example, a class discussion of â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† in a boys’ school can involve a study of a boy’s first love analyzed from his perspective. Likewise, using books featuring lead female characters may be more appealing to young women or debating the impact of religion on young girls has the potential to really reach the target group, while such discussions in co-ed schools are usually less open and extended than those in a single-sex school. However, very few teachers are effectively trained to manage a single-gender learning environment, yet very few colleges offer specific programs or courses. Considering the fact that learning is best accomplished when the delivery method matches the subject itself, it is the quality of teachers’ training— not gender of their students — that determines how successful the outcome is.Because of that, although students can also learn from home, school environments are irreplaceable during development of young minds. Rather than separate boys and girls, schools should move in the entirely opposite direction which is training boys and girls how to work together, respect and support each other. It is not long before the youth of today will be the parents, co-workers, and leaders of tomorrow. Due to that fact it is especially important to take better advantage of coeducation to frame the truly egalitarian society, that we expect to encounter in the future. 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Corporate Governance Forum Companies an Organization

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Governance Forum Companies an Organization. Answer: Introduction: In New Zealand, for achieving the long term growth in the capital market and for promoting good corporate governance in companies an organization is working named as New Zealand Corporate Governance Forum (Forum). Financial Market Authorities developed the corporate governance principles and guidelines in its FMA Corporate Governance in New Zealand Handbook for Directors, and such principles and guidelines are supported by forum. These principles and guidelines are applicable on large number of entities such as listed entities, unlisted entities, government entities and not-for-profit organizations. Changes in corporate governance focus on the board composition and board structure (NZ Forum, 2015). In this essay we start the discussion with the role and duties of directors in the context of regulatory, legal and statutory terms. In this we cover four questions related to case law that is issues in the strategy of Fonterra which need to review, how helpful these changes are in helping the directors in discharging their duties, applicability of proposed changes and in last opportunity directors has missed in revising the governance. Board Structure and Corporate Governance: Board of directors of the company plays a very important role in conducting the affairs of the company. In other words we can say that board of directors of the company are those tiers which run the company, and they are responsible to create the wealth for shareholders and provide services to the stakeholders of the company. Principles and guidelines set out by FMA will help the board of directors of the New Zealand companies in achieving high standards while complying with their duties and responsibilities (Securities Commission New Zealand, 2004). Section 131 of the Companies Act 1933 state the duties of directors to act in good faith and in the interest of company. According to this section: It is necessary that directors of the company exercise their powers in good faith, and in the best interest of the company. In case of director of the wholly owned subsidiary company, and if authorized by the constitution of the company to exercise his power then director must act in the good faith and best interest of the holding company even that act contradict with the interest of the company. In case of director of the subsidiary company not the wholly owned subsidiary company, and if authorized by the constitution of the company to exercise his power then director must act in the good faith and best interest of the holding company even that act contradict with the interest of the company. In case when director is carrying out any kind of joint venture between the shareholders or company, and for performing his duties related to joint venture, he is expressly authorized by the constitution of the company. Then in such case director must act in the good faith and best interest of the shareholder even that act contradict with the interest of the company (Companies Act 1933, n.d.). Section 135 of the Companies Act 1933 defines that directors of the company must not conduct the affairs of the company in such a way that create or cause to create any substantial risk to the creditors of the company (Companies Act 1933, n.d.). Section 135 of the Companies Act 1933 defines that directors of the company must exercise their power with due care, skill, and diligence (Companies Act 1933, n.d.). Principle of corporate governance described the board performance and composition. This principle ensures an effective board, and make sure that board of the company must consist of independent directors, skilled directors, directors have knowledge, experienced directors and perspective. Following are the guidelines of FMA issued to ensure effective board in the company: Company must have board that has appropriate balance of executive and non executive directors, and board also has independent directors. All directors of the company except those who are permitted by law and disclosed to the shareholders of the company must act in the best interest of the company. Every company must have the charter which states and defines the roles, responsibilities and duties of the director. It is necessary that board confirms that directors are fulfilling their duties in effective way (Institute of Directors, n.d.). It is necessary that directors ensure the proper structure of the Board for maintaining skills, knowledge, and experience in their board. Size of the board of directors of the company will rely on the factors like need of the company, nature of the company, and maturity. For the effective running of the company it is necessary that board has skill, knowledge and experience. Members of the board take collective decision by thinking and contribute expertise outside of their own areas. Therefore, it is necessary that board of the company comprise the best to attain the company goals, and also ensure the monitoring of the operations of the company. An individual must join the board only when he has competencies related to business, strategic, analytical and knowledge, and he also has ethical and personal qualities. For the continuous development of the company it is necessary that person must have knowledge competencies and these requirements are changed according to the company to company (Code of Practice for directors, n.d.). In the present case of Fonterra, company reviews its governance structure for the first time in 2013. After making review on the present structure of the company, and after proposed changes in accordance with corporate governance company asking for the feedback of the farmer owners. Company make following proposals: Reduced the size of the Board: Company decide to reduce the size of the board from 13 to 11, and proposed to remove 2 independent directors of the board. According to the research of the company there is no right number for the composition of the board. It was concluded from the research that smaller groups are more effective in taking decisions, and they are more efficient in creating the environment in which members make efficient decision, involve personally, and this increases personal accountability. The main issue in the strategy of the company is removal of independent directors from the board. The proposal of the company was supported by 50%, but board did not get vote from 75% shareholders of the company. According to the principal of corporate governance issued by FMA, Company must have board that has appropriate balance of executive and non executive directors, and board also has independent directors. In this case, if proposal of directors were approved by the shareholders then in such case Board of the company will reduce its independency (Fonterra, 2016). According to the Board of directors of the company these changes are made to make the board more efficient, and remove the unsuitable candidates from the board. Directors also changed the eligibility criteria for the farmer directors, and also proposed to allowed modern farmer ownership structures. These proposed changes help the directors in discharging their duties effectively and take decisions in the best interest of the company. These changes mainly focus on increasing the power of board in the company, and also board monitor the performance of the management of the company. Through these changes company wants to introduce skill and experience in their board, and wants to give power in the hands of farmer. Company also introduces new selection process for the board which increased the importance of farmers in the company. For the farmer directors company introduce the single transferable vote system (STV), and for independent directors they introduce pure board appointment process. Through these changes board strengthening the position of farmers in the company, following proposed changes are there which increase the control of farmers in company: Farmers can elect councilor on SHC to represent their matter. They can elect farmer directors through STV process. Ratify the appointment of independent directors. Farmers have the power to propose and pass resolution which is non-binding related to management of the co-op. They can call a special meeting of shareholders. Farmers can remove the directors of the company at any time. Farmers can control the constitution of the company. Through these powers company give control in the hands of the farmers, and also increase the efficiency of the board. the main of these proposed changes are Fonterra wants to strengthen itsgovernance and representation to ensure it can meetgoals including lifting the volume it collects to 30 billion liters of milk both in New Zealand and in overseas markets from 22 billion liters now, and driving revenue to $35 billion over the next decade from $18.8 billion. Fonterra miss the opportunity while focusing on these changes that it does not pay attention to the other aspect of the corporate governance, and other opportunities tto flourish the business of the company. Conclusion: In this paper, we discuss about the proposed changes introduced by the Fonterra. Changes proposed by the Fonterra was reduction in board size, increased the control of farmers, change the selection process in the board, and also introduce new eligibility criteria for the board. These changes are reviewed in 2013 and proposed by company in 2016. In this we conclude that these changes are adhered to corporate governance, and company wants to expand the business through these changes. References: Securities Commission New Zealand, (2004). Corporate Governance in New Zealand Principles and Guidelines. Retrieved on 11th October 2016 from: file:///C:/Users/Guest/Downloads/SecLaw_SBL-Q_NewZealandSecuritiesCommissionPrinciples.pdf. NZ Forum, (2015). Guidelines. Retrieved on 11th October 2016 from: https://www.nzcgf.org.nz/assets/Uploads/guidelines/nzcgf-guidelines-july-2015.pdf. Companies Act 1933-s131 Companies Act 1933-s135 Companies Act 1933-s 137 IOD.Code of Practice for directors. Retrieved on 11th October 2016 from: https://www.iod.org.nz/Portals/0/Publications/Founding%20Docs/Code%20of%20Practice.pdf. Institute of Directors. Draft Corporate Governance in New Zealand Principles and Guidelines. Retrieved on 11th October 2016 from: https://www.iod.org.nz/Portals/0/Governance%20resources/IoD%20NZ%20-%20Submission%20to%20FMA%20on%20corp%20gov%20principles.pdf. Fonterra, corporate Governance. Retrieved on 11th October 2016 from: https://www.fonterra.com/au/en/about/our+governance/corporate+governance/corporate+governance.